Cresselia's Search
by Alicia and Darkrai
Summary: Cresselia is tired of being unappreciated, and leaves Fullmoon Island in search of someone who likes her for who she is and not who her counterpart is. But only Arceus knows how long her search will take, and will Cresselia be the same after her quest? Rated T for later chapters, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

The lush, green foliage did little to hide Cresselia from the boy that stepped off the ferry and onto Fullmoon Island. The young trainer looked bored as he marched up to the lunar swan. Cresselia trembled and flinched away as he looked her up and down, then roughly yanked out one of her feathers. He looked at the pink feather as it stopped glowing and faded to green, then said, "This thing'll cure nightmares, right?"

Cresselia nodded meekly, and the boy promptly turned and walked away. She watched him for a moment, then called out telepathically, "Aren't you going to try to catch me?"  
The trainer did not slow, nor did he turn. "Naw, you're pretty much useless in battling. The REAL cool Pok mon is Darkrai, the shadow dude who lives on that island east of here." He glanced back. "I only catch cool, strong, and RARE Pokémon. You're just an overgrown Psyduck!"

Sneering, the boy boarded the ferry. Soon, only ripples remained to show that a boat had been docked there a few seconds ago.

Tears welled up in Cresselia's eyes. She turned her back to the exit of her island, then flew up into the sky.

She arrived at Newmoon Island shortly, her cloud of Psychic energy weakening as she entered the sphere of darkness. Darkrai floated nearby, his arms folded.

"What are you doing here, Cresselia?" he demanded. "This is your fourth visit this week."

"A - another trainer came by my island today," she whimpered, "with the intent of capturing you. And he took one of my feathers."

Darkrai's gaze softened. "Again?" he asked. "Well, he won't find my island, that's for certain. And he didn't even try to capture you?"

Cresselia shook her head, biting her lip. "It feels like... nobody cares about me anymore. It's like they have forgotten what I do each night - like they no longer remember how I traverse Sinnoh to spread sweet dreams. I am only ever mentioned in passing, or when you are spoken of. To them, I am simply 'Darkrai's weak counterpart.'" Tears slid down her face. "Should you cease to exist, I doubt I would even be remembered..."

Darkrai came to her side and placed a warm hand on her neck. "Dearest sister, it appears that you are forgetting something. The ones who come to your island are the only ones you ever see, yes?"

Cresselia sniffled and made a barely audible squeak.

"Those are the collectors, or those who come in search of reward. You ought to leave your little island sometimes, not just at night. To find, perhaps, the small children who wish for sweet dreams, and who long to meet you for real." He smiled with his eyes at Cresselia. "Those are the ones who truly appreciate you. They have not yet lost sight of what is important in this world. They are the ones whose opinions of you truly matter."

Cresselia's eyes trembled as she smiled back at her brother. "Thank you, Darkrai," she sighed. "I suppose... I can leave to go out and meet the people who don't care about battle moves and comparing the two of us." She floated up and back off the island.

"Thank you, brother! I shall begin my search for my perfect trainer now!" And with those parting words, the lunar swan flew off into the night. Darkrai watched for a moment, then sighed. Cresselia would only be gone for a short while. What could possibly go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

Cresselia finally landed in the small town of Twinleaf and observed her surroundings. The town was relatively quiet; the windows of all the houses dark. She sighed. Perhaps I should have come here during the day, she thought to herself. No one is awake at this hour anymore.

She floated about, looking for a resting place, when she spotted a small pond at the outskirts of the town. She flew over and gleefully settled down onto the cool waters, then lay her head upon her wing and slept.

Cresselia was awoken by something hard hitting her head. She looked up sharply and saw two small boys hurling rocks at her, laughing. Cresselia flinched back and swam to the furthest corner of the pond, out of range of the rocks.

"Hey! Come back here!" called out one of the boys.

"Yeah! We're not done playing yet!" yelled the other.

"Theo! Darwin! Get over here this instant!" yelled a second, female voice. Cresselia glanced up and saw a plump lady with vibrant purple hair march over to the children with a disapproving frown on her face. The boys cowered as their mother lifted them by the scruffs of their shirts. "Have neither of you learned any manners? That is no way to treat a Pokémon!"

"But mom..." wailed both the boys.

"No but's! You two run along home! You've lost your privileges for today! Ah am very ashamed in yah both!" She dropped them and the brothers scurried away, their heads bowed low. Then, the lady turned to Cresselia.

"Don't mind them, dear," she beamed. "Those young 'uns are too little to understand common courtesy!" She put her hands on her hips. "Mah name is Griselda, but everyone just calls me Gree!"

Cresselia glanced up at her, then floated over, looking shy. "Thank you, Gree. I didn't mean to cause any trouble," she whispered.

Gree laughed. "Don'tcha worry your head, mah dear!" She patted Cresselia's head. "You're a Cresselia, if I'm not mistaken, eh? If yah want, you can rest up at mah house!"

Cresselia cringed. "I don't know..." she murmured, looking away.

"I'll have mah boys outta there, if it'd make yah feel better!" she said. "They ought 'ta get out and collect Oran berries for Potions with their father, anyways. They been slackin' off and makin' excuses, but the Potions in the mart are nearly out of stock. We've got a bit of a job in providing 'em, you see. The boys go out and get the ingredients, while me and Lily make the Potions together." She gasped. "Oh, wait, you haven't met mah daughter Lily yet, have ya?"

Cresselia felt a bit frustrated with this woman, but quietly replied, "Well, I only just got here last night, you see..."

Gree stared, then slapped her forehead. "Aw, man! Ah forgot about that! You've never been here before, have ya?"

"Well, only on short visits to bring good dreams..."

Gree laughed. "Dangit! Ah seem to keep forgettin' who ya are!" She turned away, then looked back, smiling broadly. "Now don'tcha be shy, mah dear," she said, "come right along."

Cautiously, Cresselia lifted herself out of the water and followed the strange woman. Gree appeared harmless enough, but Cresselia would still have to be on her guard around humans. People were violent and unpredictable, from the swan's previous experiences.

Gree beckoned to Cresselia as they approached a small house made of bricks. Theo and Darwin peeked out from a window, then quickly disappeared when their mother opened the door. Inside, it was roomy and warm, everything in shades of orange and brown. A Glameow trotted about the room then, upon noticing Cresselia, meowed and came up to her slowly, looking wary. Cresselia cringed, then, employing her powers, changed her form to a human. The Glameow yelped in surprise then skittered backwards to hide under a blanket.

"Well, would'ya look at that!" gasped Gree. "You look an awful lot like a human now!" She walked around Cresselia, as if inspecting her. "My, my..." Gree looked up at Cresselia and asked, "Can all you Pokémon do that?"

"Only legendary Pokémon have the ability," Cresselia said, shaking her head. "Ordinary Pokémon are unable to change their forms like this."

Cresselia's hair was blonde with a patch of pink in the front and her eyes were still pink. Her skin was light, like cream, and she wore a pink and blue flowing Oriental-style dress. She looked quite a bit like a porcelain doll.

Gree grinned, then motioned to a table in the corner of the room. "Why don'tcha sit yerself down and ah'll make ya a cup of tea. Oh, and here comes Lily now!"

Just as Cresselia had sat at one of the wobbly, mismatched chairs, a pale, skinny girl with green hair entered the room. She would have been very pretty, had she been wearing more than her shabby-looking brown dress and had her hair been brushed. She leaned heavily against the wall as she stepped into the main living room, and Cresselia knew in an instant why. Lily's eyes were dull green and so cloudy that her pupils could not be seen. Lily was blind.

Cresselia gazed at her pitifully, feeling as though her heart was being crushed. Gree smiled indifferently and put an arm around Lily as she came closer.

"Lily, mah dear, we've got a special guest stayin' with us today. She's a Cresselia!"

Lily was silent, but she smiled a little. Gree's face drooped and she looked back at Cresselia with her eyes full of heartbreak.

"She's mute, too," she sighed, patting Lily's back gently. Cresselia was speechless. A girl with no sight or voice? How could that little girl even be able to smile?

Gree noticed that the mood had gone down, and she pasted a fake smile on her face.

"Now, then, Lily, you sit down, too, and ah'll make ya some hot cocoa." She guided the girl to the chair next to Cresselia, then busied herself in the kitchen. Cresselia could not help but stare at Lily as she played with her fingers quietly. Her lips moved a bit and she looked up in Cresselia's direction, smiling again. Cresselia had no clue what to do. She felt sorry for the girl, of course, but what was there she could do? A mute and blind girl this scrawny wouldn't survive long in the world; what point was there even trying to make her happy?

The two sat in silence until Gree brought over the mugs. She gently leaned over and put Lily's hand onto the handle of the cup, and Lily held the other side of the mug as well as she brought it up to her lips and sipped from it, spilling a bit of the brown liquid down her front. Cresselia turned her head away, unable to watch anymore. She drank her tea as quickly as she could, then stood up and said to Gree, "Thank you for being so hospitable, but I really must go now."

Gree sighed. "Well, go if ya must. Ah was just hoping you could do us one more favour, but ah completely understand if yer unable to."

Cresselia blinked. "Um, well, I might as well hear you out, I guess, but I can't make any promises. After all, there's only so much I am able to do."

"Yes, well..." Gree suddenly had a desperate look on her face. "Lily here's been havin' nothin' but nightmares recently, an' ah was wonderin' if ya wouldn't mind givin' her a Lunar Wing to sleep with at night. Ah mean, if you're unable to do that, ah don't really mind, but I jus' want mah baby girl to be... happy at night, at least if she can't be during the day."

Cresselia glanced at Lily, who had a small, pleading look on her face. Cresselia took in a deep breath, then said, "Tell you what. I'll do more than just give her a Lunar Wing tonight. I'll create for her the best dream she'll ever have!" Gree gasped, then looked down at Lily, who looked utterly amazed.

Feeling elated inside, Cresselia continued, "Then, I'll give her as many Lunar Wings as it'll take for her to have a sweet dream every night, and I can come again later to give her new ones if the older ones fade off. How does that sound?"

Gree shook her head, smiling so wide that her face seemed unable to contain her mouth. "Oh, mah goodness! Would'ya really do that for lil' Lily? Thank ya so much, mah dear!"

Cresselia smiled, then looked back at Lily. The small girl looked so happy that she would burst at any moment. Gree took Lily up to her room to get her into a new dress so her dirty one could be washed, and Cresselia stood there, wondering what on Earth she had just done.


End file.
